WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – As the Monson girls soccer team celebrated its 3-1 victory in Tuesday’s Western Massachusetts Class D Championship Game, the Mount Greylock coaches consoled their players by telling them to hold their heads up and be proud of the scare they threw into the top-ranked team in the state.
But perhaps the most important words Mounties coach Tom Ostheimer said in the post-game talk: “Practice tomorrow.”
That is because the Western Mass tournament is not an end for the losing teams as it was before the advent of a statewide championship tournament.
Rather, the Western Mass tourney is just the start of post-season play for student-athletes throughout the region.
“Yeah, and that’s what I really like about the state tournament: It’s not over with the Western Mass,” Ostheimer said. “They’re obviously upset. We had an undefeated season end tonight. There was a lot at stake, we had high hopes, we worked hard for this.
“But there’s more soccer to be played, and we should feel pretty confident going into this tournament.”
Even in a loss, the Mounties (15-1-3) may have gained a little confidence Tuesday against Monson (17-0-2), the team likely to be seeded first when the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association releases the state tourney brackets Wednesday afternoon.
After Lucy Igoe scored in the ninth minute of play, the Mounties led most of the first half, and they were even with the Mustangs until the 46th minute of play.
Monson outscored its first two Western Mass opponents by a combined margin of 15-1, but it took 35 minutes to solve the Mounties defense and keeper Mai O’Connor.
“There were shades of the Western Mass final against Palmer last year where she was just playing out of her mind,” Ostheimer said of the sophomore keeper. “It was the most pressure she’s had since that game, and it was like deja vu.”
It was a mistake in the back by the Mustangs that produced Mount Greylock’s goal.
Igoe intercepted an errant clearing pass and fired the Mounties’ first shot on goal in the ninth minute of play. Monson’s Samantha Stewart made the save but deflected the ball over the goal line for a Mount Greylock corner kick.
Molly Sullivan took the corner from the left wing side and found Igoe in the middle of the 18. Igoe headed the ball home for her ninth tally of the season and a 1-0 Mount Greylock lead.
That is where the score stood for the next 25 minutes despite some strong chances for each team.
Just before half, Monson’s Hannah Murphy scored with an assist from Emilia Finnegan to level the score.
And Murphy scored again six minutes into the second half on a counter up the middle to put the Mustangs on top for good, 2-1.
Midway through the second half, Murphy set up Finnegan for an insurance goal, and Monson largely controlled play from there.
“I was ecstatic when we were up 1-0 and held them off the board as long as we did,” Ostheimer said. “They were a lot to handle on the offensive end with their speed and [Kendall Bodak] the playmaker in the middle of the field who is just really clever with the ball.
“We matched them with speed. I thought Rowan [Apotsos], especially, our young phenom back there, and she was savvy enough to let a few balls run over the end. She played like a junior or senior. And we got incredible goaltending from Mai. She shines in those moments. It’s like she thrives on the pressure.”
